When Amazon's HQ2 Comes to Town, Local Economies May See a Boost

Once Amazon selects a town for its second headquarters, that city can expect a ripple effect on their economy. Attom Data Solutions' senior vice president of communications, Daren Blomquist, predicts double-digit appreciation for markets in the first year.

A new, big company in town can cause rising home values, and consequently, higher property taxes. "As property taxes and revenues go up, that can go to schools and improve their quality and better fund programs ... and infrastructure," Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, professor of finance and director of the Center for Real Estate Finance Research at New York University Stern School of Business told CNN. However, "If you are a first-time homebuyer in the selected city, this is bad news ... Property prices will go up and you will have to borrow more."

Just look at what happened in Reno, Nevada, after Tesla opened a massive battery factory: Home prices have soared 43 percent since the fall of 2014, following the start of construction on the Gigafactory, according to Blomquist. The same phenomenon occurred when Apple moved its headquarters to a new location in its home city of Cupertino, California. In the three years following the project's approval, homes located within a mile of the new campus appreciated three percentage points faster, on average, than the rest of the county, according to Realtor.com.

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